Protector
by Little Tsu
Summary: A recent transfer to Balamb got injured while facing a T-Rexsaur on their own. Now Zell, who had saved the girl from getting killed, has placed it upon himself to take care of the girl. Should be fine, right?...Well,...the good intentions are there at least.(Rated for slight swearing) Implied Squall/Selphie, Irvine/Quistis, & POSSIBLY Zell/OC. (Depends on how ya look at it.)


_Little Tsu: Simply put...Another test._

 **Protector**

 **"CRAP!"**

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, **CRAAAAP!"**

Quickly making a dive over a fallen tree trunk within the Training Room, a set of massive jaws filled with large, razor sharp fangs barely missed the slender torso of a petite girl that had made said dive.

Panting softly, the young girl pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced up above her to see the giant T-Rexsaur looming right above her; its glaring sharp eyes and snarling features baring down at her. "Shit..." Silver eyes widening in a panic, the young girl made yet another dive as the dino put its foot down.

...Quite literally at that.

Cursing under her breath, the SeeD did a single front handspring with a 180 degree twist as she landed on her feet, skidding back a bit, and now facing the massive monster. "Damn it. This thing just doesn't know when to quit...I knew I shouldn't have come here after curfew, but then again, when have I ever really listened to bloody orders to the letter?" Huffing a short, sharp breath upwards in a failing attempt to blow her magenta bangs out of her face, she grabbed her weapons from their place against her lower back. With a quick, graceful florish of movements, the teen got into a fighting stance much like how a fist fighter would, but encased in her small, but firm grasp were twin bladed weapons with glowing, neon blue blades curved back along the length of her arms with the tips halting a little more than halfway to her elbow and at the base of the blades and fused into the hoop styled handles were twin black pistols with her index fingers resting against the triggers. "Alright you overgrown lizard. Come at me **now!** I'll bite back this time!"

The T-Rexsaur didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated and one couldn't blame it given the whole difference in size and pure physical power between the two. Instead, it released a loud, hungry roar before rushing in to strike with its fangs once more, only to bite at nothing but air yet again. The girl had leaped up into the air and backflipped out of the way before suddenly extending her arms out in front of her while still in the air. Closing one eye shut as she took aim, she pulled the trigger of both twin pistolblades; a barrage of bullets releasing and colliding all along the dino's torso and head. Landing on the ground once more and skidding back with one leg outstretched to the side and the other bent at the knee some, she watched as the T-Rexsaur reared back its head in a roar that was a mixture of pain and anger. Apparently, she had hit some of the more weaker spots that were upon the beast.

Smirking at this, her eyes narrowed before she pushed off with a thrust of her left foot against the ground as she rushed in towards the massive monster. "The bigger they are, the harder they **fall!** " Leaping high up into the air, the teen quickly whipped around in a upward spin as she lashed out with the blades of her weapons, causing the T-Rexsaur to stumble back. Normally, any other monster in the Training Room would've already fallen to her attacks, but she knew all too well about this beast's massive stamina and overall strength. It wasn't about to go down easily. In fact, the monster pretty much proved its point on that by suddenly whipping around and smashing into the girl with it's tail in a fierce amount of power...And with the teen still having been up in the air, she hadn't been able to dodge. Instead, she could only block as she had crossed her arms in front of her face with her weapons to brace herself, but that didn't do much good as she cried out in pain; her petite form smashing right into a large tree trunk in the slight distance, actually snapping it and knocking said tree **over!**

Groaning softly in pain, the girl winced slightly when she tried to move. "Damn it...Looks like I broke something. It hurts to really move right now." Slowly opening her eyes and trying to focus her sight through the throbbing pain, she spied the T-Rexsaur slowly stalking towards her to apparently finish the job. "...Well, crap...This isn't good..." Trying to force herself up in an attempt to possibly flee or dodge a strike, pain shot through her right leg and right wrist, causing her vision to practically flash white. Collapsing once again where she had landed, her blurring gaze stayed upon the dino as it closed in on her. _'...My brother always did say...that my recklessness would get me killed someday...Didn't think he'd mean it on Garden grounds of all places...'_

Just as her vision began to go black and her consciousness fade, she caught sight of a flash of blue and yellow along with the sound of a fierce yell before darkness finally took her...

 _ **{Two days later}**_

Groaning softly from exhaustion and a still dull aching pain, silver eyes clenched tightly shut for a moment before slowly opening up as they met with a white ceiling. "...Oh bloody hell; am I dead?"

An amused chuckle was heard in front of her before an equally amused voice spoke up. "I assure you, you aren't dead. You're very much alive, though you did fracture your wrist and leg pretty badly. You've been recovering in the Infermary for the past two days."

"Say wha?" Flinching slightly as she used most of her weight on her left hand to weakly push herself up into a sitting position in the bed she was in, she locked her gaze onto the one before her. "Dr. Kadowaki? How the hell'd I get here? Last thing I remember was getting flung like a rag doll by a T-Rexsaur and then it coming at me to finish the job before I finally blacked out..." Glancing down at herself, she was relieved that her clothes were at least still intact. Slightly baggy black jeans that had a few buttons around the legs just above the knees where the pants could be detatched and become shorts - the left pants leg revealing just that -, a red fitted sleeveless top that showed a small bit of her middrift, a black unzipped cotton vest with a grey fur edged hood, and a single dark red fuzzy leathered fingerless glove on her left hand. Her black travel boots were currently resting at the side of the bed, which those halted halfway up to her knees.

The doctor crossed her arms over her chest as she nodded her head. "Yes, that does appear to be correct. However, just before the T-Rexsaur could do so, you were actually rescued by a fellow SeeD. He saw you were in trouble and rushed in to protect you."

"Is that how I got here...? Then who-?"

Before she could finish that question that suddenly filled her mind, a voice yelled out from the entrance before the door flung open. "Yo, Dr. Kadowaki! Is she up yet?!"

Sighing softly, Dr. Kadowaki gave the sudden arrival an exasperated look. "Well, if she **hadn't** been before this, then she certainly would be now, what with your yelling, now wouldn't she?"

The spiky haired blond that now stood before them both lifted a fingerless gloved hand to the back of his head as he rubbed it while grinning sheepishly; his sky blue eyes shining with slight glee that showed an obviously energetic nature. "Heheh. Whoops. Sorry about that Doc. Guess I got a bit carried away.

Shaking her head, Dr. Kadowaki finally released a sigh of defeat. She never **could** stay mad at this boy. His personality just made it impossible. "In any case, yes, she's awake now as you can see Zell." Turning her gaze to the girl, she offered her a gentle smile. "If you need anything, just tell Zell here. He'll get it for you if he's able to. I need to run a few errands so I'll be back shortly." With that, the doctor turned around and left the Infermary.

Watching the doctor leave, Zell finally turned back around to face the girl that was sitting in one of the recovery beds and practically hopped over to her as he grabbed the back of a chair and spun it around before taking a seat in it backwards so that his folded arms rested on the back of the chair, which was facing the girl. "So, what were ya doing out in the Training Room past curfew? Were you trying to head for the 'Secret Area'?" He then cocked his head faintly to the side in a curious manner, which showed off the tribal tattoo on the left side of his face all the more as he gazed at her. "Who are you anyways? I mean, I've seen ya around before, but you're a transfer SeeD, right? A SeeD that came from one of the other Gardens?"

Surprised a bit by all the questions she was suddenly bombarded with so soon after becoming conscious again, she thought best to avoid the reason for what she was doing there first since that was actually a bit more embarrassing to explain unlike the other questions that had been thrown at her. "Um...My name's Kaoru Saiyama and not...exactly. I mean, I did transfer to here from another Garden, but...I was given SeeD rank right after I was officially listed in the Balamb Garden's registery."

"Really? How'd ya accomplish **that**? All of us here at Balamb had to go through exams and were tested to see if we even made the cut."

"It's cause of my proess at my previous Garden, Galbadia. I was actually one of their best weapons and combat specialists despite my age. Due to my reputation, I guess you could say, I was more than qualified so since G-Garden doesn't train SeeDs, when I transfered here to become one, Headmaster Cid instantly gave me the rank without needing to go through any of the exams first...I've been in Balamb for about a week or so now. Haven't been given any missions yet though, since the Headmaster had wished for me to get used to my surroundings and become more comfortable in my new home first."

"Oh, I get it now. Yeah, I saw those weapons of yours. I personally prefer to let my fists do the talking, but I gotta admit, your weapons looked awesome." Grinning when he said this, Zell soon raised his gaze towards the clock to see the time. "Man, almost lunch already. I best get to the Cafeteria on the double before the hotdogs sell out." Rising up onto his feet quickly, he went to rush out of the room, but halted at the foot of the bed as a thought suddenly passed through his head. Turning his head to glance at Kaoru from over his shoulder suddenly, a cheshire grin appeared onto his face, causing the slightly younger teen's silver eyes to widen in a sudden rush of slight unease. "So Kaoru...Ya hungry?"

"Uh um...I...guess? Why do yo-? Ahh!"

Zell suddenly shut her up instantly as he picked her up into his arms without warning and carefully flung her around onto his back as his muscular arms hooked themselves behind her legs and under her backside; being careful to mind the leg that was in a brace. "Hang on tight then!...Cause I'm about to burn rubber!" That was his only warning to the poor girl as he bolted off quickly out of the Infermary, causing the girl on his back to bite back a half startled cry as she quickly wrapped her slender arms around his neck and shoulders so she wouldn't fall. Of course, her startlement had only caused the older teen to laugh cheerfully in amusement.

Upon finally arriving at the Cafeteria, Zell slowed to a walk now and peeked over his shoulder at Kaoru with a slight grin. "You ok back there Kaoru?"

The teen in question lifted her head slightly in a dizzying fashion from its resting place against the side of his neck and focused her eyesight on his features. Her magenta bangs were fallen into her eyes even moreso than they usually were and her normally wild, high ponytailed hair - though not currently - was a slight mess halfway down her back and around her slender shoulders. "...You could've made those sharp turns a little bit smoothly...I feel like I was almost given whiplash a few turns back..."

"Whoops. My bad. Sorry about that Kaoru, heheh." Casting a now sheepish grin at her, he shifted his arms under her to have a better grip with her still on his back before heading over to the food line. "Alright, I'm gonna have to balance you on one of my arms cause I need the other to grab our tray and the food and drinks we want. Keep that hold around my shoulders tight enough, alright? I promise I won't drop ya. I'll take care of you."

Blushing faintly at this, Kaoru nodded her head and tightened her grip around his shoulders a bit more as his left arm was removed from under her so he could grab a tray and slide it along the metal bars that ran along the food line. She didn't weigh all that much and stood at maybe only five feet even with a petite figure; pretty small for a fifteen-year-old and not getting any bigger, but she was more than light enough for Zell to carry around with no problem one armed. Especially, considering the amount of strength he actually had...

As Zell snatched up around five fresh hotdogs with the works and a bottle of water, he casted a glance at his new attachment. "So what are ya in the mood for? I'll even pay; consider it my late 'welcome to Balamb', hah."

Giggling softly for the first time since she'd transfered to Balamb, she nodded her head faintly in appreciation for everything Zell had done for her already and started pointing out a few things. A sliced in half grilled ham and cheese sandwich, a small bowl of mixed melon, and a bottle of chocolate milk. Watching both their lunches get paid for, she continued to hold on as Zell picked up their tray and left the line; making their way to an empty table. When the tray was set down on the table carefully, she blinked slightly as he pulled out a seat and delicately shifted her around in his arms as he set her down in it. Blushing faintly again as she wasn't used to being treated so tenderly, she casted a shy smile up at him in thanks before turning to her lunch as she began to eat; blushing when her stomach growled loudly in realization of just how hungry she actually was after two days of no food.

Laughing a bit at Kaoru's stomach growling like it did, he picked up one of his hotdogs and grinned. "Looks like your stomach's real happy that I brought you along with me, huh?" As he chowed down on his own lunch, he perked up slightly at the perky voice that suddenly called out to him from across the Cafeteria. Upon seeing Selphie, Squall, Irvine, and Quistis, he grinned and waved back as they came over and pulled up their own seats; joining them at the table. "Hey guys. Glad you could finally join us. What took you guys?"

"I was busy with preparations for the Garden Festival and I just lost track of the time. There's sooo much to do still. I'm really lucky that Squall agreed to help me out whenever he could and even Quisty and Irvine came by and saved the day a little bit with today's work." Selphie seemed a bit tired from all the work, but she still had that genuine upbeat nature that she usually showed. Even Squall seemed a bit more relaxed lately and had actually been spending a bit more time with Selphie ever since Rinoa had broken things off with him and gotten back together with Seifer. It actually made some people around the Garden wonder if there could actually be something going on between Squall Leonheart and his practical polar opposite that was Selphie Tilmitt.

Nodding his head lightly in agreement towards what Selphie said, Squall crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his seat while seated next to the perky brunette. Drifting his steel blue eyes towards the magenta haired teen that was with Zell, he narrowed his eyes faintly in a studying fashion before finally speaking. "...So who's this girl Zell?"

At Squall asking about the girl with Zell, that got their other friends suddenly curious as they were wondering too, but when Irvine leaned forward on the table to get a closer look, his blue grey eyes widened slightly in surprise from underneath his cowboy hat. "No way...Kao? Well, I'll be. What are you doing here gorgeous?" Of course that got a pointed look aimmed at him by his current target of affection, Quistis even though she was playing hard to get with his attempts at charming her. Chuckling slightly in nervousness, he quickly explained himself. "I call her that as a bit of a nickname. This is Kaoru Saiyama. While I was known as the best marksman and sharpshooter in Garden, Kaoru was right on my tail in sharpshooting with her twin pistolblades. She's a real quickshot and deadly with her no-scope precision, but with the weapons she weilds, she deadly with blades too. We went to Galbadia and trained together during our time there till I left with you guys." Irvine then turned back to his friend and smiled. "But seriously, what are you doing here at Balamb?...And what the name of hyne happened to you?"

Figures they'd only just now notice the brace around her right wrist and the brace around her right knee and the lower half portion of that leg.

"Uhh...In that order 'Vine, I recently transferred to Balamb about a week ago and as for the injuries, wellll,...lets just say, I learned my lesson about exploring past curfew and facing a T-Rexsaur by myself for the first time ever just to see how I'd fair...Zell saved me as I got knocked out..." Glancing off to the side in embarrassment over the last part, she blushed faintly over admitting that she ran into that much trouble and pretty much had to be saved. Then again, when glancing up at the blond next to her, Kaoru actually didn't mind it too much that it was him that had saved her. Sure, she would've tried to deny that she had been saved or **needed** saving period had it been anyone else, but for some reason, Zell doing the saving was ok...Maybe it was his overall nature and the way he prefers to fight that made him an exception for her...

At this, Irvine nearly doubled over in laughter within his seat as he wrapped his arms around his gut while Selphie had actually squealed softly over how cute and sweet that sounded. "Oh man. You-! Hahaha! You actually got your ass handed to you and had to be **saved?!** Ahahahaha! Oh hyne, I **really** wish I had been there to witness that..." When the sniper calmed back down and was given a questioning look by all of his friends while the youngest of the group tried to sink lower into her chair out of embarrassment, Irvine narrowed his eyes playfully as he smirked. "Kaoru doesn't **get** saved. **She's** always done the saving. To actually get forced into a position where **she** needed the saving?...Yeah, that never happens cause she would find it to be a massive blow to her pride, so to hear that Zell saved her? You bet your tails, I'm gonna laugh."

Squall just rolled his eyes faintly at this and sighed softly to himself as he shook his head. He then saw what time it was and closed his eyes gently as he rose back up onto his feet. Tilting his gaze down a bit at the sudden curious upward glance from Selphie, he nodded faintly towards the clock. "We need to start getting ready...We've all been selected to head over to Trabia Garden in the morning to help see to the restoration of the Garden, remember?"

Blinking slightly at this for a second, Selphie's emerald eyes then shot wide open as she gasped in realization of that and quickly jumped to her feet as she clapped her hands together once in front of her with a bright, elated smile forming onto her features. "Oh, that's right! My old Garden is finally getting the assistance in the repairs that it needs since the whole thing with Ultimeca had been finished and the world was saved. Hehehe, ohhhh, I can't wait! This is going to be so exciting!"

While Selphie cheered and listed on all the things she was gonna be doing to help once they all got to Trabia to Squall, Zell couldn't help but chuckle as he was definately thoroughly amused by how upbeat his best friend, Selphie was being and also towards seeing the very faint upward twitch from the right corner of Squall's lips as if he was trying to stay stoic and not show any emotion rather than smile like he actually wanted to. He thought it was pretty shocking that a girl with just boundless amounts of energy could become a good match for someone like Squall Leonheart, but at the same time, Zell couldn't have been happier for the two. After all, neither of their relationships had worked out and even though Selphie's had ended with Irvine on a slightly friendlier note as the cowboy was still their friend and hung out with them, he had never seen Selphie as happy as she was than when she's around Squall and it was the same vise versa even though the male tried to hide it. Watching as the two began to walk off to go prepare their packs for the trip, Zell glanced over at Irvine and Quistis, who were exchanging a few words with each other themselves towards what all they might do to help in Trabia's restoration upon arrival. It was obvious that Quistis felt **some** thing for Irvine, but it was possibly due to his reputation as a charmer and flirt with the ladies and him being Selphie's ex, despite also being their friend, that she was holding back still.

...Probably to see if Irvine was actually serious about wanting to be with her and to see if he'd actually remain faithful or eventually leave her once he found another girl that caught his interest.

"So! All of us here are being put on the Trabia Restoration Mission?" Zell casted a curious look towards Quistis as she usually had all the answers when it came to mission details. She was always very thorough like that and it was actually one of the things he admired about the ex-Instructor.

Quistis stopped speaking with Irvine and glanced over at Zell as she smiled lightly and nodded her head. "Yes, that is correct. You, Irvine, Squall, Selphie, and myself have been chosen to be placed on this mission in order to help with the restoration of our sister Garden more quickly and efficiantly. We are to not only help in the restoration, but to also make sure everything goes smoothly as to keep monsters from causing any further damage, harming those of Trabia Garden, and to also ensure that no new enemies appear to disrupt and ruin said restoration process. Headmaster Cid isn't certain how long we will all be gone for and so he instructed us to make sure we pack enough clothes and other essentials that we might need for an extended stay...Also, make sure you pack some warm clothing. Until the outer shell and the insulation of the Garden is restored, the construction process will be a cold one."

Nodding his head lightly in understanding towards all of this, he then casted a glance towards his new companion and studied her for a moment as he fell into deep thought; his eyes suddenly narrowing and his brows furrowing a bit in the process. He was being placed on this mission too. That meant needing to leave Kaoru behind during her own recovery. Normally, that wouldn't be much of an issue, but...he had promised to take care of her and besides that, he didn't **want** to leave her for who knew how long. He wanted to see through to her recovery and he actually found that he **liked** carrying her around and spoiling her a bit. It almost felt like how one would treat a little sister or a girlfriend...

Woah, woah!

Did he just compare how he's taking care of his new friend to that of a girlfriend?!

Shaking his head lightly, he forced the thoughts back out of his head as he glanced up at Irvine and Quistis, who had now stood up to take their own leave in order to get ready for the mission. "I'll see you guys in the morning then? We taking the Ragnarok? I mean, since we stopped using Balamb as a means of transportation and stays in one place now."

"Well, it would kind of defeat the purpose of 'packing' if we were simply taking Balamb to Trabia anyways along with choosing who was going there to aid in the restoration as well. So yes, we're meeting at the Ragnarok in the morning at 0700 hours. Please try not to be late Zell and oversleep." Well, Quistis had her points there. As Zell blushed faintly at being called out on towards the late portion of it though, Quistis chuckled softly and turned around as she left with Irvine tipping his hat to them in his form of a 'later' before he followed after the whip weilding fellow SeeD.

Watching them leave, Zell sighed softly to himself and stared down at his empty plate for a moment. The only thing that dragged him back out of his thoughts was the sudden feel of a delicate hand touching the bare skin of his arm, successfully sending electric shocks up his spine. Lifting his head up at this, he locked his sky blue eyes with Kaoru's own slightly concerned silver ones. It was easy to see she was worried for her new friend and didn't like him so quiet and deep in thought like this. Sighing once more, the martial artist casted her a reassuring smile as he lifted a gloved hand and brought it to rest over the one that rested on the lower half of his arm; her hand a decent bit smaller and more delicate looking than his own by comparison. "I'm ok. I'm just thinking about something is all."

"Wanna talk about it Zell?"

"Well,...I mean, you heard my friends, right? I'm being put on this mission too and it might be a long one. I don't know when I'll be back and you're still recovering from that incident with the T-Rexsaur a few days ago. I had promised that I'd take care of you though and I can't **do** that if I'm gonna be all the way on some whole other continent."

Kaoru nodded her head lightly at this in understanding and tilted her head down slightly as she glanced off to the side towards the floor. Her friend had a point there and she supposed that she could see his current issue on the matters. Normally, she would've just told anyone off and said she could take care of herself just fine; that she didn't need anyone's help or to be treated like something fragile...Yet, whenever she saw the earnest look in his shining, energetic sky blue eyes towards his urge to wanna help her out in any way that he could, she just couldn't bring herself to say 'no' to that. It'd be like kicking a puppy down on the ground. At that, the twin pistolblade weilder couldn't help but mentally chuckle to herself. Come to think of it, Zell really was like that of a puppy. Innocent, energetic, upbeat, full of energy, easily excited, playful, friendly, loyal, and actually pretty adorable in both over all personality and in looks.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she drifted her gaze back onto her friend through her magenta bangs and casted him a sweet smile. "Well, you'll think of something, I'm sure. Besides, if not, I think I can take care of myself while you're gone. I'm not **totally** helpless, hehe."

Zell frowned slightly at this, but then sighed again as he nodded lightly. "Yeah, I guess. I better get you back to the Infermary so you can get some rest. Plus, I think Dr. Kadowaki is bound to give me a tongue lashing for 'kidnapping' you right out of your recovery bed." Chuckling at the thought of that, he rose up onto his feet and put their dishes and tray away before returning back to Kaoru's side as he helped her up out of her seat, only to then lift her up easily back onto his back once again as he headed off to return to the Infermary. As he did so though, Zell's thoughts shifted back onto his current situation. He already felt responsible and protective over Kaoru. He cared a great deal about the younger girl and wanted to watch over her, but he couldn't if he was so far away from her. Deciding on what to do about the matter, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly in his resolve.

Once he had returned Kaoru to the Infermary to get some rest, he was gonna go to the Headmaster's office and request permission to take Kaoru with him on the Trabia Restoration Mission...

 **End.**

 _Little Tsu: Ok, that's that. It was a long one-shot, but mainly revolved around the budding friendship between Zell & the new girl, but also hinted at a possible romance too, though it could also easily be seen as a possible sibling-like bond as well._


End file.
